Electric railway.



v J.-A.;GAREY. ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 12, .1907.

' a SHEETS-SHEET z PATENTED AUG. 11, 1908.

' No. 896 071. PATENTED AUG. 11 9 J. A. GARRY. V I "U ELECTRIC RAILWAY. APPLIOAIION FILED AUG. 12,1907;

7 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

'Witnemeo UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A. GAREY, OFMOUND CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE G. GAREY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. GARRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mound City, in the county of Holt and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Electric Railway, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electric railway systems, and more particularly to the con struction and arrangement of a plow or current collecting device.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a novel form of plow and conduit structure wherein the third rail is 1., concealed in a spring closed conduit, the conduit being opened by the passage of the plow and automatically closing thereafter.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved construction of plow in which the plow or shoe is pointed at both ends in order to permit ready opening and closing of the conduit, and in which the opposite sides of the plow are provided with rollers which serve by engagement with the 5 edges of the conduit to minimize friction.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of current collecting wheel of such nature as to lessen the liability of short circuiting between the third 3C rail and the members of the conduit.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel means for raising and lowering the plow toward and from the third rail.

With these and other objects in view, as

3 5 will more fully hereinafter appear, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, size and minor details of the structure may be made Without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of'the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a portion of an electric railway system embodying the invention. Fig. is a transverse section of the 56 same on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus on a somewhat smaller scale, aportion of the conduit being broken away in order to more clearly illustrate the construction. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view on the line 44 of Fig. 1.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 12, 1907.

Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

Serial No. 388,256.

Fig. 5 is a detail transverse sectional view of the collecting wheel.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In carrying out the invention, the third rail 18 has a base 17 of approximately trapezoidal form in cross section, this base fitting within an insulating recess formed at the top of a pair of angle bars 11. The angle bars are rovided with flanges 20 on which rest the lower edges of a pair of plates 21 having approximately semi-circular upper ends that are provided with lip plates 23 at their adj acent edges, these lips being forced into contact with each other by two sets of springs'24 and 28, so-that the third rail is normally concealed and protected.

The plow is in the form of an elongated flat bar 40 having pointed front and rear ends and arranged to run in either direction, the pointed ends serving to s read the lips of the conduit as the car trave s. In order to reduce friction, the bar carries two pairs of rollers 41 which are approximately frusto-conical in form, and are designed for contact with the lip plates 23, which, when spread to the open position, are disposed at an acute angle to each other, as shown in Fig. 2. The rollers are carried by small spindles 42 mounted in bearings 43 and the peri heries of the rollers project slightly beyond t e side walls of the bar, so that the latter will not come into contact with the lips 23. The central portion of the bar'is cut away, forming a pair of spaced arms 45 which carry ball or roller bearings 46 for the su port of a Wheel 47 that engages the third rail The Wheel 47 is formed of two disks or hub members that are made of non-conducting material, and between them is fitted a ring 48 formed of brass or other good conducting metal. The periphery of the wheel is grooved in order that it may fit the curved face of the threaded rail and insure contact between the third rail and the conductingring 48.

Arranged on the car is a compressed air reservoir 52 which may be supplied from any suitable source of power, and at a point above the shoe is a pair of vertically disposed cylinders 53, the upper ends of which are connected by a chest 54, and the lower ends by a chest 55. These cylinders contain pistons 56 from which depend rods 57 that are bolted or otherwise secured to the shoe, and the lower portions of the rods are connected by a cross bar 59. This bar 59 carries an insulating block 60 to which is secured a current collecting brush 61 that bears against the ring 48, and from the brush extends a wire or wires 62, leading to the motor.

Extending from the compressed air reservoir is a pipe 66 connected to a valve chest 67 having three ports 68, 69 and 70, the port 69 being the exhaust port. nected to the chest 54 and the port 70 is connected to the chest 55. In the valve chest is a slide valve 71 which is connected to a suitable operating lever arranged at the front of I the car and under the control of the motorman. By moving this valve in one direction the air from the reservoir may be directed through the port 68 to the chest 54, filling the upper ends of the cylinders and forcing the pistons down, in order to pneumatically press the wheel 47 into contact, with the third rail. Movement in the opposite direction is effected by shifting the valve to allow the pressure to The port 68 is con- I of an application for Letters-Patent filed by me on August 12, 1907, under Serial No. 388,255.

I claim 1. In combination, a third rail, means for supporting the same, a conduit formed of spring closed sections, the adjacent edges of the sections having lip plates, a plow having pointed ends, antifriction rollers of approXi mately frusto-conical form carried by the a plow and arranged to engage said lip plates, the central portion of the plow being recessed, a collecting wheel mounted in the recess and having a grooved peripheral face for engagement with the third rail, a collecting ring carried by the wheel, a plow support, and a collecting brush engaging the ring.

2. In apparatus of the class specified, a car carried pressure reservoir, a pair of ver tically disposed cylinders, chests connecting the upper and lower ends of said cylinders, a

valve chest in communication with the pressure cylinder, ports leading from the valve chest to the connecting chests, a valve in said valve chest, a pair of pistons in the cylinders, rods depending from the pistons, a plow carried by the rods, and a cross bar forming a bracing connection between said piston rods.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature jin the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN A. GAREY. Witnesses:

S. A. LAURENCE, H. T. CUNNINGHAM. 

